Why Gray's Hibs backroom staff picks make perfect sense

Very much a victory for those in the support who wanted good Hibs men in the dugout, or at the very least, people who 'get' the club. 

READ MORE - Gray confirms Hibs staff as familiar faces take key roles

But, in all seriousness - and with apologies to Liam Craig, Eddie May, and Craig Samson - while David Gray's picks for his backroom staff may not be the most exotic names, they are, much like Gray himself, sensible options at the right time. 

Reported links with Hearts B coach Liam Fox and his subsequent rejection of crossing the Edinburgh divide were closely followed by rumours that former first-team coach John Doolan had been earmarked for a return but his recent appointment as permanent manager at Accrington Stanley on a three-year deal made that move unlikely.

Hibs remain a club in flux ahead of yet another 'summer of change' and with the first friendly game scheduled for 11 days' time, are still to sign any players or unveil any new kits, although the new home shirt will be released later this week and a training camp in the Netherlands was confirmed earlier on Tuesday.

READ MORE - Malky Mackay explains why Hibs appointed David Gray

When Craig, May, and Samson were announced by the club's official social media channels a chunk of the reaction was akin to that gif of Alan Partridge shrugging with indifference. The feeling of apathy that swept through the stands last season still hangs heavy in the air.

But perhaps Hibs are attempting to do something about the ambivalent atmosphere. 

When John McGinn was paying tribute following the deaths of his former Aston Villa team-mate Matija Sarkic and Tam McCourt, who served as groundsman and then kit manager at Hibs, he made quite a pointed reference to his former employers.

Speaking to BBC Sport Scotland the former Easter Road midfielder said: "Wee Tam was the first person I saw when I walked through the door at Hibs. Him, his wife Joyce who worked there at the time, and his son Thomas - they just breathed the club. I know they weren't involved for the past wee while, which is maybe part of the reason Hibs have lost their identity a wee bit."

READ MORE - David Marshall's new Hibs role explained

Perhaps the appointment of Malky Mackay as sporting director, David Marshall's move upstairs to the role of technical performance manager, and an unfashionable yet steady coaching staff is a sign that Hibs are learning lessons from previous seasons. 

Steady Eddie - or a bit more than that?

Eddie May has assisted David Gray in his four interim spells in charge (Image: SNS Group)

In May, Gray has appointed a boyhood Hibs fan with experience of scouting, coaching, and bringing players through from academy to first team and in each of his four interim spells at the Hibs helm Gray has called on the former Hibs academy chief for his support. 

Most recently the 56-year-old was the club's loans manager, latterly sharing the position with Brian McDermott, and spoke to the Hibs Observer in January about his role in 'looking after the boys'. 

Marshall will look after loans as part of his new remit but May's knowledge of Scottish football, the academy structure, and the perils of management after a largely ill-fated stint in charge of Falkirk make him the ideal foil for Gray. 

READ MORE - Hibees on loan: the process, the reasons and preferred clubs

During his time at the Bairns he insisted on being 'just' the manager, drawing up a defined chain of command that absolved him of any responsibility for the likes of youth development, scouting, or sports science. Save for spells in England with Brentford and latterly Berwick Rangers, and a brief stint in Australia with Western Knights, May's playing career was spent in Scotland. But he got a first-hand look at the inner workings of French Ligue 1 side Saint-Étienne during a coaching course and his take on player development should reassure some sceptics among the support.

"I believe that if you’re a defender you need to go to a team that’s going to be tested, and you want centre-forwards or wide players to go into attacking teams that have more opportunities to win games," he said. 

“It’s about trying to find the best fit for the player. You have to go on a journey and get used to the negativity of it all. You need to get your mindset right. Whether someone develops into a top player or not often comes down to mindset, mentality, and strength of character, rather than ability or physicality."

May is vehemently against the idea of returning to management himself, but acting as one of Gray's two trusted lieutenants appears to suit him rather well. 

Craig: the coach who knows what it means

Liam Craig has joined from Queen's Park (Image: SNS Group)

It would not be inaccurate to suggest that Liam Craig wasn't universally accepted as a Hibs player when he joined from St Johnstone. A pre-contract signing, he had the misfortune of being part of the team to suffer relegation via the play-offs and a missed penalty against Hearts at Tynecastle in a 2-1 defeat didn't do him much good either.  Neither did making the move from McDiarmid Park to Easter Road; for some reason most players who star for the Saints against Hibs and then make the journey down the M90 fail to replicate their Perthshire success in the capital and while Craig was one of those who bucked the trend, it feels like his time at Hibs was tarnished by association. 

But since hanging up his boots he has worked alongside Steven MacLean at St Johnstone, Stuart Malcolm at Arbroath, and Callum Davidson at Queen's Park, as well as spending time with Dunfermline and learning from the likes of Derek McInnes and John Hughes. 

Crucially, though, he is a battler and has experienced not just the unfathomable low of relegation with Hibs, but also the feeling of positivity when things started to turn around after the arrival of Alan Stubbs and a rejig of the hierarchical positions; not too dissimilar to the current state of play.

With his coaching career still in its relative infancy, this role is a chance for Craig to continue learning from the likes of May and also Gray who, despite his own inexperience, has worked alongside Jack Ross, Nick Montgomery, Shaun Maloney, and Lee Johnson as well as playing under Paul Heckingbottom, Neil Lennon, and Stubbs and will have plenty of pointers to pass on, while Craig will be able to do likewise from working with Davidson, McInnes et al. 

Return of Samson

Craig Samson and David Gray (Image: SNS Group)

The return of Craig Samson makes sense as well, as a goalkeeping coach who knows the club and the league - even if some of the comments from Aberdeen fans on social media following news of his departure from Pittodrie were less than positive about his time in the north-east.

The former St Mirren 'keeper takes a bit more of a hands-on role in terms of coaching, rather than being limited to instructions for whoever is between the sticks, and it's not hard to imagine Gray valuing that additional experience as well as the benefit of having a goalie coach who knows the Scottish game and with whom he has worked before. 

Samson was also at the club when they recorded a third-place finish in 2020/21 under Jack Ross and an impressive 'goals against' tally of just 35, so it would be little surprise if he is tasked with helping to improve a rearguard that has haemorrhaged goals in recent seasons. 

Given that Gray was already at the club before getting the permanent head coach position, it would have been understandable if Guillaume Beuzelin and Darren McGregor, currently head of academy coaching and under-18 head coach respectively, had been mooted to make the step up to the first team. But it equally makes sense to keep them in their posts working under academy director Gareth Evans, because of their knowledge of the youth-team players and the chance to keep progressing their own coaching careers.

READ MORE - How to be a Hibs manager: Alan Stubbs on the job facing David Gray

With Mackay trying to reshape how Hibs operate in a variety of different areas, some stability will be crucial. But a return to having more 'Hibs-minded' people in key footballing roles might also go a long way to potentially transforming the team's fortunes on the park and getting the fans back onside. 

Provided they get the results too, of course.